An increasing number of people appear to be spending more and more of their time in participating in outdoor activities and spending more and more of their weekends and vacation time engaged in outdoor sports and recreation. This, coupled with the fact that many geographical regions of the United States have cold and wet weather during a substantial portion of the year, has given rise to an increased demand for a multi-purpose garment which is durable, of high quality, warm, substantially waterproof, which may be worn by a person as a poncho-type garment, which is easily folded and conveniently carried by a person, and which otherwise fills a number of outdoor needs such as a picnic blanket, a tailgate cover for tailgate parties, and an automobile robe or seat cover.
Various types of ponchos and other outer rain and cold protective garments which may or may not be convertible into blankets, automobile robes, and the like, are known to the prior art. These prior art garments include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,839,003; 1,901,223; 2,408,662; 2,462,269; 2,513,074; 2,870,464; 2,971,198; 3,522,612; 4,258,439; and 4,370,755. However, these prior art garments, many of which are multi-purpose garments, all suffer from one or more of the following disadvantages: they are not of the high quality desired by many people today, are not sufficiently durable and handsome in appearance as presently desired by many people, do not include mating zippers for conveniently and securely fastening a hood to a blanket-type member to form a poncho-type garment, do not include epaulets for enhanced appearance and which may serve as a handy means for securing items such as binoculars, cameras, etc. to a garment and which may also serve as an over-the-shoulder carrying strap for a multi-purpose garment, and do not permit a multi-purpose garment to be used as an automobile robe or a cover for the back seat of an automobile while also permitting use of the back seat seat belts.
Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a novel, multi-purpose, reversible blanket-garment which is primarily useful as a poncho-type garment against inclement conditions of weather such as cold, rain and snow, and which may be readily converted to fulfill the above-noted needs of today's increased outdoor and recreational activities.